Fractured Tales: The Chronos Protocol
by bleachfan16
Summary: Our reality is like an island in the vast ocean of time. Attempting to alter time is like dropping a meteor in the ocean; the results are always a disaster, and nothing is ever the same. Set in the Bleach universe. Companion to the Fractured series
1. Run for fun

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach or it's respective characters. All O.C.s were created by yours truly.

— POV change

**_forward or backward in time**

"Speech"

'Thought'

**Mechanical speech**

"_**Hollowfied/other speech"**_

'_**Hollowfied/other thought'**_

**Fractured Tales,**

**Book one**

**The Chronos Protocol**

Chapter 1: Innocence

**Unmei no sekai, 1 year B.T.E.**

Lord Jikan stood before a large and ancient looking book, which rested on a pedestal in the center of an otherwise empty room. A quill pen danced slowly across the page writing in the book of its own accord. He stared at a plaque on the pedestal and read aloud. "The Grimoirum Temporum, one of many mystical tomes which records all of history. It is said that any who dare, could change their fate simply by rewriting the pages of their life; but only a fool would seek to change time." Lord Jikan smirked as he read the plaque again."Well then it's a good thing I am not a fool."

"Are you sure this is a good idea my lord?"

"Relax Tama, we're not changing anything. We're simply…" he paused searching for the right word "updating, that's all." He picked up the book, and carried it out of the room and into the larger room beyond.

A large area had been cleared on the far wall and Jikan placed the book on the floor by that wall. Taking up the feather pen he turned to Tama. "Everything ready?"

"The barriers up and everything's been braced and secured as well as it can be."

"Okay then. Let's do this!" Turning back to the book, he set the pen to paper, and began to write.

_**220 years B.T.E. :**_

Ko laughed as he ran through the halls of the palace, still dressed in his hakama from his morning Kendo lessons. Kendo was the only subject he really looked forward to in his daily lessons, so now that those were done, he was done; whether his lessons were or not. His bodyguard and butler Hokori, dressed in hakama himself, with his long blue hair tied back in a ponytail, gave chase behind him

"Stop your highness!" Called Hokori. Ko just turned his head and laughed wildly watching Hokori struggle to keep pace with him as he ran

"you'll have to be faster than that if you wanna catch me slowpoke." He goaded. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he began zipping around corners, looking to put some space between them so he could find someplace to hide. He turned another corner only to run smack into someone.

Ko bounced back and landed on his butt, holding the top of his forehead where he had hit it. He squinted and hissed from the pain

"Jeez watch it, will you? That hurt!" A female voice in front of him said. Ko looked up to see a young green eyed woman wearing a white kimono and a floor length purple Haori embroidered with flowery pattens, that trailed behind her a bit. Her long pink hair trailed down her back and ended at her mid thigh where it was tied with a blue ribbon.

"Ah, sorry Ikari-chan. I didn't see you there." He apologized

"Yeah" she admonished, eyes closed and rubbing her own forehead "That's what happens when you don't watch where you're go…" she trailed off as she opened her eyes, and finally saw who had hit her. Ikari turned red as a strawberry as her expression melted to one of panic. "AHH! M-Master Ko, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you." She stammered as she scrambled to help him up

Ko dusted himself off before replying "It's fine Ikari-chan , I'm the one who ran into you so stop apologizing. And stop calling me master, it sounds weird"

"But you're my lords son, and my future hu… hus…" she took a deep breath and clenched her fists in front of her face

"HUSBAND! There I said it!" She looked as if that one word had taken all her energy. "What else should I call you?"

Ko grimaced at the mention of the whole husband thing. They had both, in truth, lived for several human lifetimes; but if they were human, she would be about fifteen and he fourteen. The thought of being married at his age just didn't appeal to him. "Yeah that may be true" he said " but that day is still a long ways off. Besides that, your my friend. Just call me Ko."

Still blushing she simply nodded "Right…Master Ko" eliciting a sigh and a face palm from the aforementioned master.

From the distance they heard a loud and drawn out scream "YOUNG MASTER!" accompanied by hurried footsteps growing louder by the moment.

'Crap' Ko thought 'I let him catch up' he looked around frantically for somewhere to hide as the footsteps drew closer. Coming up empty, Ko looked at Ikari, and said "sorry" before running behind her and diving under her Haori.

"M-Master Ko! What are you doing!?" She nearly shrieked, her face now the color of a beet, due to his new proximity to her butt.

"Calm down Ikari, I just need a place to hide. Just play it cool till he leaves." He whispered

'Play it cool he says, I can practically feel his breath on me through my kimono. I swear if I actually could I'd freak out right now.' She thought to herself. Even though she was still freaking out on the inside she managed to school her features just before Hokori came barreling around the corner, and only had a light blush.

"YOUNG MASTER!" Hokori screamed as he rounded the corner, almost running into Ikari. Using skills born from a past life as a feudal Shinobi, he flipped over her mid run and land ten feet behind her in a crouch. He looked up at her then. "My apologies Lady Ikari, I didn't see you there, I was in a rush." he stared at her for a moment "Are you alright my lady? You look a bit flushed."

"Oh, me?HAHAHAHAHA. I'm fine, just a bit under the weather, why do you ask?" She said a bit stiffly "What are you rushing for anyways Hokori? Don't tell me, you lost my prince again?" She accused.

Hokori frowned at that. "A momentary lapse my lady I assure you. I shall soon find him you'll see…speaking of which, you didn't happen to see him run by here, did you?"

"Ah yes. He went that way." Ikari said smiling and pointing to a wall.

Hokori was starting to feel a bit concerned "…thank you my lady. Perhaps you should go lie down after all…do you need me to call your aide?" He asked reaching toward his earpiece.

"Ah no I'll be fine. The walk will do me good. Don't worry about me." Ko's arm grazed her thigh "AHHH-AHAHAHAHA." Ikari covered her mouth, as she scream-laughed, to hide her blush.

"…Very well my lady, I hope you feel better soon. I must go find the young master." Hokori excused himself, took off down the hallway and rounded the corner.

Ikari listened a few moments until she heard his footsteps fade, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. 'well that was the most nerve racking thing ever' she thought.

Ko released his own breath and tried to stand but tripped on Ikari's Haori. He reached out to catch himself.

Ikari felt Ko's hands on her butt through her kimono and froze with eyes wide, mouth tight. Her face turned beet red once more and she let out an ear piercing scream. "AAIIIYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She whipped around and heard an audible smack as her hand reacted on instinct.

* * *

From the distance behind him Hokori heard Ikari give an ear piercing shriek that could put a banshee to shame. "Lady Ikari" he exclaimed 'Shit, I knew I should have called her aide. I have to go check on her quick, the prince playing hooky will have to wait.' He thought to himself "Hold on my lady" he said aloud to himself. "Help is on the way!" Running back the way he came.

* * *

Ko once more found himself on his butt this morning; he stared at Ikari with a stunned look on his face, as he covered the red handprint on his cheek with his own hand. He had never seen her look so angry. "You, you slapped me." He finally managed; not an accusation but a simple statement of fact. Not that he would really blame her, even if it was an accident, he had just grabbed her butt.

Ikari who appeared breathless seemed to come back to herself at his words. Her look of anger then gave way to one of panic, and she seemed to forget for the moment that he had just groped her butt; now feeling absolutely mortified. She had slapped Ko. "I-I'm so sorry Master Ko, are you all right?" She stammered as she scrambled to help him up once again.

Ko's reply was cut short as Hokori came barreling around the corner he had just left from minutes ago. "Lady Ikari, are you alright?" He exclaimed and then froze as he saw Ko "Master Ko? How did you…" he trailed off as he noticed the red mark and blanched "Master Ko! Who has laid hand on you? Point me to them and they shall pay!" He struck a dramatic pose

"Calm down Hokori, Ikari just slapped me that's all." Ko started only then realizing he just ratted Ikari out. "B-but it wasn't her fault. She only slapped me on instinct when I-" he trailed off and Ikari blushed heavily obviously remembering the events from a few moments prior.

"When you what your highness?" Hokori queried while eyeing Ikari suspiciously

Ko glanced at Ikari, then waved Hokori over.

Curious Hokori bent down and turned his head so Ko could whisper it to him. His eyes widened and a sly smirk appeared on his face, before he covered it his hand. "Oh ho! So young master, you're at that age already hmmmm? Hohohohoho."

"Cut it out Hokori, it was an accident, geez!" Ko said forming his own blush to match Ikari's

Meanwhile Ikari, who had overheard Hokori's comment, fidgeted as confusing thoughts began running through her mind. '_He's at THAT age? Does that mean he did it on purpose? Does that mean he'll try and do it again? Does he want to touch my butt? …Do I want him to touch my butt? Oh kami-sama I bet he's been staring at my butt too! This is so embarrassing!' her face was the color of strawberry's again._

"Hahaha, not to worry young master it's perfectly natural, it's just a part of becoming a man!" Hokori stated his nostrils flaring

"…yeah if it's becoming a perverted old man like you I'll pass" Ko stated as he sweat-dropped.

"Ahh but you are young. You don't yet know. That's what lessons are for. Come your highness." Hokori said reaching for Ko.

Ko jumped out of Hokori's reach. "Yeah sorry, but I'm still not going to lessons today; especially if they're ones you think I need."

Hokori frowned at that, and made another grab for Ko. "Come now your highness, your father the king wishes you to attend these. It's best to come along now."

"Like I said earlier" Ko began as he danced out the way once more "you'll have to be faster than that" and with those words he took off once more; a grin plastered on his face.

Smirking, Hokori assumed a running stance. "Very well then, I guess it's time I got serious" He shot forward after Ko, running much faster than before.

Smirking, Ko looked back expecting to Hokori far behind, only to find him close at his heels. He grimaced and began zipping back and forth trying to trip him up, and thus give himself a lead. After several minutes of this with no success, he started to worry.

Seeing Ko falter, Hokori thought he would soon succeed in catching him. '_A good thing too' _he thought '_I can't take much more of this'_

'_He might actually catch me at this _rate_, I've got to think of something fast' Ko thought and then remembered _Ikari. he yelled to her pleadingly. "Ikari-Chan!" Seeing her look up with eyes seemingly glazed over, he pointed behind him. "A little help please?!"

This snapped her out of her reverie and back to her surroundings. Nodding, she began drawing glowing symbols in the air. "KAGAMI! DABURU! IKU!" She yelled and thrust her hands out towards Ko in a diamond shape and emitting a beam of light headed straight for Ko.

The beam of light hit Ko as he was coming up on a hallway that branched in three directions. His body glowed for a moment before splitting into three identical Ko's running side by side. They all grinned and said in unison "thanks Ikari Chan. I owe you one." They all turned, and blew raspberries at Hokori; then each turned and took off down a separate hallway, laughing as they ran.

Hokori stopped when he reached the branch, and bent over with his hands on his knees. He was breathing hard and his face was dripping with sweat. He looked down each hall in exasperation, before turning to glare at Ikari. "Why did you do that my lady? I am to tend to my prince at all times. What will you do if something happens to him because I am not near?"

"First off" she said placing her hand on her hip and adopting a haughtier tone now that Ko was gone. "Because Lord Ko asked it of me. Who am I to deny my prince AND future husband?" She giggled, hiding her mouth behind her sleeve. "And besides" she continued "you look as if you could use the exercise. Been eating too many sweets again Buta-Kun?" She teased while eyeing his lightly protruding gut.

She had recently learned of his childhood nickname; which irritated him to no end, as she used every chance she could to get under his skin. He ground his teeth "I am not a piggy! Why do you insist on calling me that my lady? You know how I-" he paused to glare daggers at her "… you're distracting me so he can get away, aren't you?"

Ikari's face broke into a Cheshire grin. "Took you long enough."

Hokori held his head in his hands and roared his frustration to the ceiling. "AHHHHHHH!" He took off, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. "Well finish this later my lady!" He exclaimed before turning the corner and disappearing to chase after one of the three Ko's.

Ikari coughed and waved the smoke away from her face. "Geez, that guy really needs to calm down. If he stays riled up like that, he might not realize he's chasing the wrong one for hours." She giggles at the thought of his face when he realized he'd been duped again. '_It's not my fault he's so slow though' _she thought to herself '_We're in the kings palace surrounded by 1000 of the kings best' _she smirked '_well 999 plus Hokori. What could possibly go wrong?'_

—

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm really excited to bring this story to you at last, as it's been floating around in my head for a while now. This story is actually going to be the first in a multi story work, set in the bleach universe, and will heavily feature some OC's of my own creation.

Also I am currently looking for a beta to help clean up any grammatical, and or flow issues. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please feel free to pm me.

Please do rate and review, as I always value feedback and opportunities to improve; and be sure favorite and follow my story if you like it so your always up to date when a new chapter goes up. That said, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Read on y'all!


	2. Let's have a ball

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach or it's respective characters. This storyline and all O.C.s were created by yours truly.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"**Mechanical speech"**

"_**Hollowfied/other speech"**_

'_**Hollowfied/other thought'**_

—

**Fractured Tales,**

**Book one**

**The Chronos Protocol**

**By Bleachfan16**

Chapter 2:

**Hueco Mundo, Nov. 2016**

Uryū panted heavily as he ran through one of the halls of Los Noches, cursing Mayuri's name. Even though the creepy soul reaper had healed him, he still felt worn out. Of course he wouldn't have been if Mayuri hadn't poisoned him in the first place.

A hollow went down in front of him, Uryū's arrow protruding from his head.'Stupid psychotic bastard, poisoning enemies and allies alike.' He thought as he dispatched another hollow with his bow. Uryū ducked behind a pillar as he nocked another arrow. Jumping out into the open in a rolling crouch, his eyes darted over his surroundings and he stretched out his senses looking for more enemies.

After a minute, seemingly satisfied that he was in no immediate danger, Uryū relaxed and allowed his arrow to dissipate. Leaning on a nearby wall he slid down to a sitting position to rest.

Uryū's eyes snapped open when he felt something tightening on his arm. He looked down to see three eyeless, inky, black snakes, coiling around his left arm. 'What the hell?' Uryū grabbed his seele from his waist and tried to stab at the creatures with it. Though the creatures had no visible eyes, they sensed him, and they easily shifted to avoid his attack.

Large mouths appeared and split into large Cheshire grins filled with many hollow-like teeth. 'Shit, Wraiths!'

Ishida cried out in pain as they bit down hard, breaking skin on his arm. He felt them begin feeding on his reiatsu.

Not for the first time, Uryū thought of that old saying that says you are your own worst enemy. While it is meant in an emotional or intellectual sense for most people, it is quite literal for Quincys. Unlike a Soul Reapers Zanpakutō, which cleanses a Hollowfied soul and allows it to move on to either Soul Society or Hell; the energy from a Quincy's bow destroys a hollow, ripping apart the soul it once was. The soul fragments they leave behind often turn into Wraiths; parasitic beings, with low intelligence, that are similar to hollows but with a more aggressive and animalistic hunting nature. Depending on how powerful the hollow was, it could actually produce multiple wraiths upon its death.

Wraith typically infected and killed their victim over time, due to their small size. Most human doctors were unable to sense riatsu, hollows and the like, and so would chalk them up to mysterious illness. As a Quincy, Uryū had been infected twice before; once as a child while accompanying his grandfather, and once when slaying a hollow, as he was the closest soul for the wraiths to latch onto.

'What the hells going on? I shouldn't have to purge yet!'

He thought quickly to himself about what could be making these wraith develop so much faster than the ones before.

'It must be this place' he decided with a start. 'The very air here can sustain hollows, so why not wraiths? That must be it! The riatsu in the air is feeding them and making them grow!'

Uryū knew he had to act fast. Gathering riatsu from around him, he let it build under his skin, while avoiding the arm the wraiths were latched onto. Having fully enveloped the rest of his body, he redirected all of it to forcefully rush to the afflicted arm. 'Let's see you dodge this.'

The wraiths screeched as they were blasted back into the opposite wall. Drawing his bow, Ishida fired three bolts in quick succession and watched with satisfaction as the wraiths were skewered to the wall. They squirmed like worms on hooks for a few moments, before finally going limp and disintegrating into black particles that floated away on the wind. Breathing a sigh of relief, he leaned back against the wall for a moment then jerked his head up as he felt large spikes in riatsu coming from above him; one of them belonging to Kurosaki.

It looked like he was up against a strong opponent.

'He might need back up' he thought but then smirked. 'Knowing Ichigo he's just as likely to be happy for help as to tell me not to interfere.' Nodding to himself, Uryū decided he should go try to help anyway. "Hold on Ichigo, I'm on my way" he said aloud and ran towards the large spikes in riatsu.

In the shadows of the pillar Uryū had just vacated, four more wraiths slithered out and in the opposite direction from Uryū. Wraiths intelligence less than humans, but even animals knew when to run away.

**Unmei no sekai, 220 years B.T.E.**

To say that Ko was a little irritated would be an understatement. No sooner had he lost Hokori, thanks in part to Ikari-chan, than he ran into a new problem in the form of his fathers treasury guards. He belatedly recalled how his fathers advisors had gone on and on about expanding the treasury, during one of those boring dinners he had recently been forced to attend. He hadn't seen any point in paying attention to a bunch of old geezers droning on about architecture then, but now he really wished he had; maybe then he'd know when and where the expansions would take place, and he wouldn't be in this situation.

'Geez, all I wanted to do was play hooky for the day, and now this. Is one day to myself too much to ask?'

In truth, all he had to do was just stop and let them see who he was, and they would release him…right back to Hokori's care, then back to his chambers. And of course his father would assign extra guards to him to make sure he actually went to his lessons, without _straying away_; so that idea was out_. _His only option was to get away from these guys so he could go back to doing what he wanted with his day.

'It couldn't get any worse right now' he thought before turning the corner and running into a dead end. "Oh come on! I didn't even say that out loud!" he griped to whatever fate had cursed him.

"Maybe if I hurry, I can double back to that last fork in the hall, before the guards catch up!" Ko turned to go, but the sound of heavy footfalls told him it was already too late. Resigning himself to another boring day of lessons, Ko leaned back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, to wait for the guards. He let out a sigh of frustration

'Well, guess it was fun while it lasted." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, not registering the soft click as he did so.

Silently and smoothly the wall behind him rotated one hundred and eighty degrees along with the floor beneath him, leaving an identical empty section of wall where the the young prince had just been.

* * *

The footfalls of the guards grew louder and they turned the corner a few moments later to find the space empty. The first one was chubby but obviously muscled, and was easily seven feet tall. His face held a cheesy grin that quickly turned to a look of great confusion. The other was short and skinny with a sour look on his face as if he had just sucked a lemon dry. He came up to about the big ones elbow.

"Huh?" Said the big one scratching his head "I was sure I saw them go this way." The small one clenched his fists and snarled, then jumped up, very high for someone his size, and proceeded to slap the first guard hard across the back of his head; making him squat and hold the spot where he was hit.

" OW, THAT HURT! What did you do that for Oroka?"

"Dami, you DOLT! I told you he went the other way. Come on" he said running back the way they came. "Let's double back. I know a short cut that should let us get ahead of the guy, and cut off his escape."

Dami stood up and looked at the empty wall once more frowning. "I was sure I saw him come this way." He repeated. He turned then, snapping out of his reverie, as he heard Oroka call for him to hurry up. "Oh yeah! Hang on I'm coming!" Dami thundered off after him.

* * *

The thundering footsteps on the other side of the wall behind him faded into the distance as Ko sat there in surprise. After a few moments, his shocked expression gave way to a giant grin.

"I don't know how that just happened, and I don't care. My day is back on track!" Ko jumped up and down whooping with joy at his victory.

Lights flared to life above him, and Ko immediately dropped to a crouch, eyes wide and hands over his mouth. A few moments passed and when Ko heard no blaring alarms, or thundering footfalls, signaling the arrival of more guards, he relaxed.

Ko slowly stood up and took in his surroundings. He found himself in an empty white room with only a single door on the other side of the room. A quick inspection of the wall behind him revealed no clues as to how to activate it once more, so that was out. "The only way out is through I guess" he muttered to himself.

Turning back to the door, he approached it slowly, wondering how to open it; as it had no obvious handles or keyholes to speak of.

"Open sesame" he tried half smirking to himself. He didn't expect it to do anything, so he was a bit surprised when a feminine mechanical voice emanated from above the door.

"**Request received. Please stand by. Scanning.**" A blue cone of light shot down from the ceiling to envelop him, turning green after a few moments and fading with a ding. The voice returned. "**Facial recognition confirmed, Reiatsu signature confirmed, ID match." **The door slid open with a hiss. **"Welcome Prince Ko." **

"Hidden entrances, and security checks? Damn I must be in a restricted area. That would explain why the guards were so hell bent on catching me."

Ko snapped out of his musings when the voice returned **"Warning! Door closing." **

Ko passed through the door quickly. He was momentarily surrounded by darkness as the door slid closed behind him, but then had to shield his eyes against the blinding light that flared to life from all around.

As his eyes adjusted, he found himself in an enormous multi-story hall that stretched as far as his eyes could see; and it was absolutely filled with doors on every level. Some were small enough you would have to stoop to enter, while others were large enough to accommodate a C-130. Although, how they would get the aircraft in the hall let alone up ten flights was beyond him.

Looking around, he picked a door at random and opened it; and found himself staring at a goose the size of a horse. It raised it head to look at him then honked loudly and charged. Ko quickly slammed the door shut . He proceeded to the next door, and opened it to find dozens of squids swimming through the room. Ko jumped back in alarm, but the water didn't rush out the door like he expected. It seemed as if it was content to stay right where it was, and just throw a big middle finger to the laws of physics. He edged closer, shutting the door and moving on. He passed room after room of oddities. A room full of chocolate covered horseradish's here. A room full of tiny clothes there. Winged shoes here , cats there , armor, cats armor, armored cats, cats tap dancing.

'…someone has an unhealthy obsession with cats' he noted as he sweat-dropped nervously.

The strangest room so far though, was a few doors down. Ko opened the door and just stared. There was an entire suburban neighborhood, straight out of a fifties American film; except Ko was pretty sure they weren't filled with sharks mowing lawns. One of them saw him watching and stopped to wave before continuing on. Ko sweat-dropped and waved back, before slowly closing the door.

"…what kind of treasury is this?"

"This vault holds treasures of time rather than riches" came a voice from beside him

"How are lawn mowing sharks treasures of time?"

The voice sighed heavily. "It's a long story, don't ask."

He was still curious, but Ko relented for now. "Hmm, ill take your word for it I guess."

Ko yelped and jumped back as he finally realized someone was next to him; or rather some…ball!? There was literally a beach ball floating next to him smiling; Yes smiling, it had a face.

Ko smirked nervously"…umm, were you just talking to me?"

The ball turned to face him. "Yep, I was, that I was."

Ko eyes went wide"AHH! Who are you!? How are you talking?"

"Ah, hey no need to be scared. I'm not a bad ball, boing!" The ball giggled to himself as if at some private joke. "Allow me to introduce myself. My designation is B011G253E, but you can call me Tama!" Tama said cheerfully.

Ko thought for a moment "…Hey Tama?"

"Yes?"

"Your name is Tama?"

"Uh huh"

"Which means ball?"

"It does"

"You're a beach ball?"

"That's right" Tama smiled

"Whose name means ball?"

"Yep"

"You don't think that's a little too on the nose?"

Tama frowned "I don't have a nose"

Ko scrunched up his face in frustration "No that's not what I…never mind." Ko sighed and looked around at all the doors once more "So, Tama, you said this place holds treasures of time right? Is this part of the treasury then?"

"Ahh! Well yes and no. While we are housed in the same area, this place is a separate entity into itself. Our treasures are of a much sensitive nature"

"So what exactly is this place then? Do you live here?"

Tama beamed "Oh me? I work and live here too. It's sort of a live in job type of thing." He explained. "As for what this place is…" Tama paused for dramatic effect. "Welcome, to the Vault of Time! I am your friendly Time Vault facilitator"

"Facilitator?"

"Yeah you know, managing records, housing, operations, directing guests, ejecting intruders, decoration, cleaning, cooking, origami; you name it, I do it! We proudly contain over one million aberrations here!" He stated

"Wow, that sounds like a lot." Ko said "where's the rest of you team?"

"Oh there isn't a team it's just me."

Ko blanched at that "What? All by yourself?"

"That's right. I do it all!" Tama beamed

"For how long?"

Tama peered thoughtfully into space. "Hmm, well you know I haven't really thought about it, but if I had to guess. I'd say…about five hundred years, give or take a decade."

"Five hundred years by yourself? I know time runs differently for us than it does for humans but that's still a long time by yourself! Isn't that lonely?"

"Oh well the king comes by every fifty years or so for inspection,so there's that."

"What about your friends?"

Tama looked down "Friends? Well I don't really have any, but I've heard they're nice."

"You don't have any friends?" Ko asked in disbelief

Tama looked a little crestfallen "No"

Ko looked thoughtful for a moment.

'No friends?' he looked back at Tama and nodded determinedly. He stood with one hand on his hip and the other pointed right at Tama. "Yes you do. From today on I, Prince Ko, will be your friend!" He yelled triumphantly.

Tama's eyes lit up and he began talking really fast. "Really? Y-you mean it? Would you come and visit me everyday? We could play games? Tell stories?"

"Hey now easy. I can't come everyday, I have to show up to lessons sometimes." Ko laughed "but I'll still come as often as I can."

"Hai that's okay. As long as you come visit often. Oh! I could even show you around if you want! There's lots of cool stuff." Tama was literally bouncing around with joy at this point.

"Cooler than lawn mowing sharks?" Ko laughed

"Way cooler! There's so much here, I could literally show you more than a dozen new things every day, and we'd still be looking for hundreds years!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Ko grinned

"C'mon I'll show you!" And with that Tama took off, bouncing away so fast that Ko would be hard pressed to keep up with him.

"Ahh! Hey Tama wait for me!" Ko exclaimed and gave chase.

A/N: Welcome back everyone, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A little peek into the human world this chapter, with more to come. Tama is definitely a fun character to write, I had plenty of laughs when coming up with him. Did any of you catch the Easter eggs? Let me know if you found any in the comments. Please rate and review, and be sure to favorite and follow if you like it, to make sure you don't miss upcoming chapters. With all that being said dear readers, I'll see you in the next chapter. Read on y'all.


	3. Who said bonding was good for you?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach or it's respective characters. All O.C.s were created by yours truly

**Note: **Sorry for the delay guys. I got called up to help with Covid-19 response efforts so that's kept me pretty busy. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can, so please bear with me.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"**Mechanical speech"**

"_**Hollowfied/other speech"**_

'_**Hollowfied/other thought'**_

—

**Fractured Tales,**

**Book one**

**The Chronos Protocol**

**By Bleachfan16**

Chapter 3:

**Karakura Town, June 17, 2010**

Ichigo stood next to his mother under his umbrella, wearing his yellow raincoat, and waving to Tatsuki from in front of her house.

"Goodbye, Tatsuki."

"Bye Ichigo. See you at the dojo tomorrow."

Still waving, Ichigo and his mother turned and walked down the alleyway towards the main road. Ichigo took a step out of the alley, and was immediately soaked as a cargo truck zoomed through a large puddle in front of him.

"Ah!" Cried Ichigo, dropping his umbrella and attempting to shield his face from the cold onslaught.

"Oh, that careless driver!" Masaki exclaimed. "Come here. Are you all right?" Masaki pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Ichigo's face. "Let me switch places with you, and walk next to the street so that doesn't happen again."

"Nah, you don't have to do that. I'm the one with the raincoat on, so I don't mind. Let me protect you from stuff like that okay?"

"What a brave boy. That's very sweet. But before you worry about protecting me, I think you should work on protecting yourself from that Tatsuki."

"Come on, I won a point from her the last time!"

Masaki chuckled. "There you go. You're all cleaned up now." She stood up. "Lets go, and I'll walk on the street side this time."

"Hey mom, can I hold your hand, please?"

She laughed. "Why of course you can."

Ichigo grinned widely and grabbed her hand as they walked. They followed the river on their way home and Ichigo stared at it, amazed.

The river had swelled from the constant rain and rushed past with a roar, similar to static on an old tv

"Mom look at the river. It's so fast and loud." He pointed as they walked.

"Yes, it is. And dangerous too. You should never go near the water when it's like that. You could easily be swept away and drown."

"Ok mom, I won't." He nodded. He definitely didn't want that to happen to him.

Ichigo smiled again as they continued on, humming happily to himself. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo stopped and looked back to the riverbank.

Standing near the rivers edge was a girl in a white cloak, staring at the water.

"Huh? What's that girl doing?"

As he watched, the girl began to walk down the concrete ramp into the water.

"Ahh, I'll be right back!" He yelled back to his mom as he ran down the grassy bank to stop the girl.

'Doesn't she know that's dangerous?' He thought as he ran.

"Ichigo, where are you going?" Seeing the girl jumping into the water, and realizing what she really was, Masaki panicked and ran after him. "No, Ichigo, stop!"

Ichigo reached for the girls cloak as he reached the edge, and watched as it disappeared into thin air. That was the last thing Ichigo remembered before blacking out.

* * *

**Unmei no Sekai, 216 B.T.E.**

Four years had passed since Ko had first met Tama, and true to his word Tama had never shown him the same thing twice, when he visited. Ko hadn't been able to go everyday mind you. The king had known about it of course, and had allowed it as he deemed it a sort of, _hands on learning _experience, but Ko still had to put in appearance in class every now and again to keep his father off his back.

But over the last few months, he had gone to fewer and fewer classes, and Hokori had warned that the kings patience was growing thin. Ko wasn't worried though, Hokori was trying to scare him into doing what he wanted. It wasn't like his dad would really get mad right?

It was during one of these visits that Hokori had found him, and rushed him off, saying that we're late for a meeting.

"Calm down Hokori, so we're a little late. What's the big deal?" Ko was struggling not trip over his own feet, as Hokori push him from behind like a shopping cart.

"No, my prince. Today is a little worse." Hokori assured

"Why? It's not like it's the first time I've been late to see my dad." He scoffed.

"Your weren't just supposed to see your father today my prince. You've been summoned to attend a council meeting." He said grimly

"Oh, crap" Ko paled. Showing up late to a council meeting would be a huge insult not just to his father, but the entire council. Ko suddenly put on a burst of speed, no longer needing Hokori to push him along.

* * *

King Jikan sat upon his raised dais in the council chambers and watched as the council members filed out. Appearing to be in his late thirty's, the king was muscular and had a stern but handsome face, with piercing blue eyes, and long black hair that flowed down his back and across his broad shoulders.

The king visibly relaxed the moment the doors closed behind the last council member, leaving him alone save for his own personal guard Hidari. Jikan rubbed his head and signaled for the servant in the corner to bring him sake. Downing the first immediately, he held out his his cup for another, which the servant hastened to fill.

"Where the hell are they Hidari?"

Hidari stood off to the left of the king with his arms clasped behind his back, wearing a fitted three piece suit. He was short and skinny, with balding brown hair and glasses. He held himself in a way that made it obvious he had spent a long time in military service.

"Just a moment your majesty" He said and raised one hand to his earpiece. "Hokori, report." He listened a moment before nodding "Acknowledged, speed it up." Turning back to the king. "They'll be here in five minutes my king."

The king made no reply but grunted, and called for more sake. Hidari resumed his earlier position and they both waited in silence, but for the sound of the kings finger tapping rhythmically on his knee.

Five minutes passed by and hidari finally moved his hand back to his earpiece and listened.

"Your majesty, the guards report Hokori and the prince have arrived. Shall I admit them?"

"Oh yes Hidari, please do!" Jikan replied icily.

Hidari cringed inwardly for the prince but merely nodded. "Send them in." He replied to the guards through the comms.

The doors swung open to admit Hokori and Ko, both of whom looked breathless, as they approached the Dias and bowed.

"Your majesty!"

"Father!"

Jikan said nothing for a moment, merely staring at the two of them as they held their bow. "Rise." He said finally

"Where have you been my son? The messenger I sent for you, seemed to have trouble finding you." Jikan asked, addressing Ko first. He knew exactly where Ko had been of course; evading Hokori and his lessons as usual so as to go see Tama.

Jikan didn't mind that Ko had made friends with Tama, in fact he encouraged it as Tama had been happier and more productive since making a friend in Ko. But today had caused Ko not just to be late, but to miss the entire meeting.

"With Tama, father."

"Indeed, and why wasn't Hokori with you?"

"He was looking for me."

"And why was that?"

"Because, I decided to skip classes. And I knew Hokori wouldn't let me, so I stole his comm and ran off."

"I'm sorry father." Ko said meekly

"Sorry? Your Sorry!? No! Sorry, is spilling tea on the rugs. Sorry, is being late to dinner." Jikan shook his head and looked at Ko with disappointment.

"Not only did your actions today disrespect the entire council. You've disrespected me and embarrassed us both!"

"But father, I-"

Jikan threw his cup against the wall and shattered it, making Ko jump. "Silence! Do not interrupt."

He stood and strode toward the pair, coming to stand in front of Ko. For his part Ko had the sense to look down guilty.

"You are my son and my heir. Everything you do, reflects on me. The utter lack of care you displayed today, is not behavior fit for a prince. How do you expect our people to follow you as their king, in times of crisis, if they can't even depend on you to show up to a council meeting?"

"Your majesty, if I may-"

"No hokori, you may not! You are as much to blame for this as my son. You were charged with his care and well-being. You were to be his chaperone, his very shadow, and in this you failed!" Jikan yelled accusingly.

Hokori bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry your majesty. I have failed you! I have no excuse."

Jikan looked at both of them and shook his head, anger deflating somewhat. Turning his back to them he walked slowly back towards his dais, and paused in front of it.

"I place all this blame at your feet, but I too am to blame. I have been too lenient." Jikan said turning back to face them. "I have allowed you to run around as you like for too long my son. And this is the result." He eyed them both for a moment before addressing Ko. "Beginning tomorrow, you will resume your normal lessons, ALL of them. Failure to attend will result in loss of kendo, as well as visiting your friend Tama. Am I understood?"

"Yes father." Ko continued to stare at the ground.

"As for you Hokori, you will continue to escort my son, as before. However, since keeping track of a child seems such a hard task…" Jikan's eyes glowed blue, and a bead of light appeared on his now outstretched index finger. He drew a line in the air from Ko to Hokori. "Kusari!"

Instantly Ko cried out and held his left wrist as pain flared from a glowing red mark encircling it. Hokori mirrored him a moment later, holding his right wrist. A blue line of humming energy appeared linking the two marks, and then disappeared as they faded, resembling black tattoos.

"Ah! Father, what is this?" Ko cried rubbing at the mark. "It won't come off."

Jikan smirked as he sat back down. "No my son. It does not. The two of you are now linked. Should you try to stray more than 10 meters from Hokori, the bond will activate."

"What bond?"

"Hokori, go stand against the door, and snap your fingers. The prince needs a demonstration."

Hokori moved to do as he was told. As soon as he reached the door, the mark on Ko's wrist flashed red twice. Hokori snapped his fingers, as Ko looked down and ropes of blue energy emerged from the mark and spun him around in circles, binding him from head to toe.

Once bound, the energy linked itself to the mark on Hokori's wrist and dragged the prince across the floor, to rest at Hokori's feet. Hokori appeared stunned by what he had just witnessed. Ko wiggled around at his feet like an angry caterpillar, muffled screams of indignation rising from where Hokori assumed his mouth should be. The only things visible now we're his eyes.

"Again, Hokori."

Hokori snapped again, and watched the bonds retract quickly, giving Ko the appearance of a winch on turbo, before landing on his back.

Ko rolled over, getting shakily to his hands and knees. He went to speak, but turned his head and vomited instead. Gasping for breath, he wiped his mouth of his sleeve.

"Take it off…please." Ko groaned

"No. This bond will remain in place until I decide otherwise. A security measure, to insure that you won't try to leave your guardian behind anymore. Hokori will take you to your room now." Eyeing his son still lying on the floor, Jikan decided he probably wouldn't be moving very soon. "Hokori, assist him if you will."

Hokori tried to help Ko stand, but the prince was all dead weight. After a few more tries, he gave up and slung Ko over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Your majesty" He bowed his head to the king, and carried Ko out the doors.

* * *

Jikan let out a sigh of relief as the doors shut, leaving him alone with Hidari once more. Relaxing into his cushion and calling for more sake, he glanced over as Hidari coughed into his hand loudly

"You have something to say?"

"It's just…was that really necessary sir? It was just a bit of hooky. I understand he messed up, but's he's still just a child. You did things like that when you were his age."

"He isn't a child anymore, he's nearly four-hundred-and-thirty years old. He will soon bear the responsibilities that come with protecting the timeline." Jikan frowned when Hidari remained silent. "And unlike my son, I wasn't crown prince when I was his age. He needs to respect the honored position he holds...I'll make it up to him eventually." Sighing again Jikan drank as he pondered the situation. "He's almost of age now. Perhaps it's time for him to make his first trek." Jikan scratched his chin as he came to a decision.

"Hidari, start searching the timeline in preparation. Maybe it will finally temper him." Draining his cup Jikan was sure of one thing. He definitely needed more sake.

"And get someone in here to clean this mess up!"

* * *

**A/N: **And that my friends is the end of another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but hopefully I'll have the next one out sooner.

As always please rate and review, as I enjoy your feedback. And if you enjoyed what you read, be sure to favorite and follow so you stay up to date when a new chapter is released. I'll see you guys next time. Read on y'all.


	4. Trials of the crown

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach or it's respective characters. All O.C.s were created by yours truly

"Speech"

'Thought'

"**Mechanical speech"**

"_**Hollowfied/other speech"**_

'_**Hollowfied/other thought'**_

—

**Fractured Tales,**

**The Chronos Protocol**

**By Bleachfan16**

Chapter 4:

**Karakura Town, May 15, 2016**

Ichigo sat across from the Soul Reaper with his arms crossed, having listened to all her explanations.

"All right. So you're something called a Soul Reaper."

"Mhm."

"And you're telling me that you were sent here on a mission, by something called the Soul Society.

"Mm."

"To deal with demons, like the one we saw on the street today."

"Mhm"

"Which was chasing after that girls Soul."

"Mhm."

"That's all believable to me." A vein in his forehead popped and he flipped the table between them. "Along with flying pigs and the tooth fairy!"

"How dare you!" She scowled. "Why wouldn't you believe in Soul Reapers, when you just admitted you can see spirits?"

"I've never seen or heard of Soul Reapers before." Ichigo stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets. "And frankly you're whole story is just too incredible. I don't believe in anything I can't see."

Standing she looked up in his eyes. "You see me don't you?"

"Well that's true, and I'd agree with the fact that you're not human. But why don't you go and play you're Soul Reaper games somewhere else? Okay, little brat? Now run along." Ichigo patted her head.

She grinned evilly. "I'm a brat, am I?" Holding two fingers out in front of her, she swiped them across Ichigo's body and called out. "Bakudo number one. Scythe!"

Instantly Ichigo's arms arched behind his back, and his legs crunched up against his chest, making him crash to the ground.

"I can't move. What did you do to me?"

"Paralysis. I've used what's called a kido on you. It's a high level incantation only Soul Reapers can cast." She smirked smugly. "It's useless to struggle against it. You're just wasting your energy. I may appear young to you, but I have lived nearly ten of your lifetimes. I would kill you on the spot for your insults, if it were not against my orders. So you little brat, be grateful."

"You've got nerve."

"And now." She drew her sword and swung it down towards him. Ichigo closed his eyes.

"Oh."

Confused, Ichigo opened his eyes, and was surprised to see the butt of the woman's sword on a ghosts forehead. He looked like a businessman. 'Ah! It's that ghost from yesterday.'

"No. Please, don't. I don't want to be sent to the underworld."

"You needn't worry." She smiled sweetly. "Because you are bound for a better place. The Soul Society. There your soul will be at peace."

She removed her sword, revealing a glowing mark on the ghosts forehead. He smiled serenely and sank into a swirling blue portal. When he was gone, the portal disappeared and a black butterfly flew up from the place where he had been.

"Where'd he go? What did you do to him?"

"I sent his spirit to the Soul Society." She said sheathing her blade. "It's one of the main responsibilities of a Soul Reaper. People here sometimes call it _passing on_." She reached into her robe as she spoke. "Now I'll explain to you why I'm here. And I'll use small words so you can understand it.

Her _explanation_ turned out to be crappy bunny drawings in a notebook. He made the mistake of insulting said drawings, causing her to draw a mustache on him in sharpie while he was paralyzed. He was not amused.

The basics of it were that Soul Reapers we're responsible for helping the _pluses_, the good spirits to cross over, while protecting them and the living from the evil spirits or_ hollows_, who want nothing more than to devour souls.

"That hollow with the bug body this afternoon, why was it chasing that girl?"

"That I don't know, we have yet to fully understand what motivates the hollows to do the things they do.

Ichigo's head perked up in concern, as he heard howling and a loud crashing noise from somewhere nearby. "Ah. What was that?"

The Soul Reaper continued her explanation oblivious to it."One thing we do know, is there's still a second hollow prowling somewhere nearby."

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go out and kill it."

"I would, but I can't seem to detect its location. Usually I have no trouble finding a hollow that's close by. But here it's as if my senses are being jammed by some powerful force."

He heard the howling again, louder this time. "What, are you deaf? There's something huge howling out there! That sound has to be a hollow!"

She looked at him confused. "Something howling? What do you-" She was cut off as the creature roared again, and this time it was obvious she heard it.

"Now I hear it. Definitely a hollow." She confirmed.

"That's what I've been telling you!" Ichigo said exasperated. There was a crash and a scream from somewhere in the house. Ichigo looked toward the sound. "That's Yuzu!"

The woman ran towards the scream, as Ichigo called for her to untie him. She opened the door and was buffeted back as if by searing winds. "This Reiatsu is incredible, how could I not have felt it earlier?"

A young girl, presumably the boy's sister, stumbled down the hall towards her, appearing injured. She collapsed in front of Ichigo's door.

"Ichi-go"

"Yuzu! What happened?"

Yuzu pushed herself weakly onto her elbows. "Ichigo, Karins been-Ah!" She reached out towards him. "Ichigo, you've got to save her. Ah!" Yuzu fell forward and passed out.

"Hey. You've gotta let me go!" Ichigo struggled against his invisible bonds. Suddenly they heard more screaming from downstairs. The Soul Reaper ran for the stairs as Ichigo struggled to get up and run after her.

She jumped the banister and took the stairs five at a time, rushing towards the sound of the screams. She reached the bottom and rounded the corner to see the hollow, picking up a girl, through a giant hole in the house.

"Ah, let me go!" Karin cried

The woman drew her sword and prepared to do battle, when Ichigo tumbled down the stairs besides her. She glanced over at him. "Stay out of it!"

"Damn it!" he muttered as he struggled to his feet. His whole body shook and he appeared to be in pain with every move, but he managed to stand nonetheless.

She looked at him stunned. 'How can he be on his feet when he's under my spell?'

"Fool." she cried as he stumbled into her. "You'll only get in my way!"

"Shut up!" He panted, then gasped when he saw Karin screaming in the hollows grip. Instantly he began struggling harder against his bonds.

"Stop!" The woman warned. "The kido is too strong for you to break. If you keep trying, you'll only cause damage to your soul!

Ichigo grunted and struggled, ignoring her warning. He soon began to glow and the woman was shocked.

'What? He's breaking the kido. That's impossible.' She was blinded and had to shield her eyes for a moment as Ichigo shined like the sun, and then with a shout and a concussive blast of air, he was free.

Breathing hard ichigo glared at the hollow, and grabbed a nearby folding stool.

Too late, the woman tried to stop him. "Don't do it!"

But Ichigo was already running towards the hollow, a battle cry bursting from him as he ran.

* * *

**Unmei no Sekai, 201 B.T.E.**

Jikan smirked, as he sipped his tea. It had been several years since Hokori and Ko we're bonded, and Ko had been summoned before the council once again. While the last summoning had caused them both some embarrassment, it had brought Jikan more than a few laughs too. More than once over the years, Hidari had brought him news that the _angry caterpillar _had been sighted once again. And if hearing Hidari describe the scenes had been amusing, watching the footage had been downright hilarious. He'd felt a little bad laughing as he wiped the tears from his face, but at the same time the boy had brought it on himself; and besides Jikan deserved to laugh, this job provided. The sightings had become much more rare though, and while that was a good thing, Jikan was sad to lose such a good form of entertainment.

He was drawn out of his reverie, by Hidari calling his name. "What is it, Hidari?"

"Your majesty, the council has assembled."

"And my son?"

"He awaits announcement by the main doors my lord."

"Good. Are the preparations made?"

"They are sire, but doing all this at once makes me a little nervous. Are you sure he's the right man for the job?

"Nonsense, Hidari. You worry too much. He is more than capable."

"If you say so sire."

"I do. Now enough of this. It's time to begin."

"Yes, your majesty."

Hidari put a hand to his ear then looked back at the king. "The council is assembled."

"Very good." Straightening his robes, Jikan nodded to the door guard. "Open the doors." Glancing back at Hidari, he smiled and clasped him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I mean it old friend, don't worry. Everything is in good hands. Now let's go, before they think I'm the one not showing up this time." He chuckled as he made for the door. Hidari, didn't look all that convinced, but he pushed to the back of his mind for now and followed his king out.

* * *

Ko paced anxiously, outside the doors of council chambers as he waited for his father to call him, he glanced again at the door as he paced, and brushed his long white hair out of his face for the third time. He had decided to grow out his hair out a few years ago, to mimic his fathers, thinking it would make him appear more princely. While it did lend him a more regal appearance, it was a pain in the ass some times.

He rubbed absently at the black mark circling his left wrist. Today was the first time in years he had been invited to sit in on the council meeting, and he intended to make a better impression this time. Last time was, well…less than ideal to put it mildly. Ko grimaced at the memory of it.

Hokori watch him from beside the door.

"My lord, please calm down. You'll wear a hole in the floor."

"That's just an expression Hokori. That doesn't really happen." Ko paused and glanced at Hokori, frowning. "It doesn't, does it?"

Hokori laughed loudly. "No my prince, it doesn't. But you are making me dizzy. Relax, everything will be fine. At least we're early this time."

Ko grimaced, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't remind me, Hokori. That was without a doubt the worst day of my life."

"Come now my lord, it wasn't all that bad. I know you don't think so now, but down the line I'm sure you'll agree this was for the best."

Ko was about to retort when a gong sounded, signaling his time to enter. Straightening his robes, he glanced back at Hokori, and whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "We'll talk about it later." And strode through the now open doors.

* * *

Sitting on his cushioned dais in the council chambers once more, Jikan looked much as he had many years ago, save for a golden circlet which now rested upon his brow. He smiled as his son entered, followed by Hokori.

The council members, who were arranged into two groups on either side of long blue carpet, turned to face Ko as he approached.

Ko was dressed in a floor length white haori over black robes tinged with gold on the edges. He held his head high, and strode forward with calm measured steps. If he felt any confusion seeing the council members assembled on the floor instead of seated at their stations, he hid it well. His golden eyes stared straight ahead at Jikan, and the king had to acknowledge that his son looked quite regal.

'Hmm, a definite improvement.' Jikan decided with a smirk.

Ko and Hokori stopped a few paces from the dais and bowed deeply. Hokori then removed himself to stand off to the side of the room at Jikan's signal, leaving Ko to stand alone before his father.

"You summoned me father?" Ko asked.

"Indeed." Jikan rose from his dais, causing the council members and Ko to bow again. "My son, the time has come. You are of age now, and have proven yourself a son worthy of the honor and title of crown prince. But this title comes with many new duties and responsibilities, are you prepared to accept them?"

Ko was ecstatic."Yes father, I am!

Jikan nodded smiling. "Then present yourself before me my son.

Ko moved quickly, and knelt before his father.

Jikan gave a small smile, and spoke. "Do you solemnly swear to watch over and maintain the timeline, and to never alter it for your own gain?"

"I do.

"Do you swear to guard and protect it from those who would alter it for their own selfish desires?"

"I do."

"Will you execute the duties of your office faithfully and honorably, upholding the laws of time and fate with your every breath?"

"I will father!"

Jikan chanted under his breath and placed his now glowing hand on top of Ko's head. "I hear-by remove from you the bonds which marked you." he said where only ko could hear.

Ko's felt his wrist cool and he glanced at it to see the black mark fade away. He could barely contain his joy.

"Suzakemasu" Jikan intoned and removed his hand as the glow faded.

Hokori stepped forward, holding a wooden case. Standing next to him, he opened the box to reveal silver circlet identical to Jikan's.

Jikan lifted the circlet above Ko's head for all to see. "Let it be known to all. On this day, I, King Nishi no Jikan, Lord of time and fate, elevate my son, Prince Ko. He has taken his oath, and from this moment on, I declare him to be Ko no Unmei, crown prince of the realm!" Jikan placed the circlet on Ko's brow and stepped back. "Rise now, my son and face your subjects."

Ko stood and turned to face the small crowd that made up his fathers council. They broke into cheering and applause, and he smiled and nodded at them each in turn. His smile widened as he saw a familiar face in the crowd near the front. Ikari-Chan's father, Nobu Mitsugaya, smiled back and bowed his head briefly to the new Heir-apparent, before turning to the king as the applause died down.

"Your majesty, I speak for all on the council when I say, We wish to bestow our congratulations upon yourself and our prince on this momentous occasion. May you both live long and well."

"Our thanks, Lord Nobu. You have been a long time friend to the crown. We are glad you are with us today." Jikan said smiling. "I'm sorry to see that your wife and the young Lady Ikari could not join us. Are they well?"

Nobu's face fell slightly."Yes, your majesty. I regret that They both had to stay home so that Ikari could tend to her mother. Her healing skills are a boon to us in these times."

"I understand. Hopefully she will be able to join us later. I'm sure Ko would be happy to see his betrothed."

"Of course you're majesty, I'm sure she would love nothing more."

"Are we ready to begin?"

"Yes, sire"

"Good. Everyone be seated then." He commanded. As the council moved to take their seats, Jikan turned to Ko. "Come my son, sit with me. We still have matters to address." Jikan gestured to the cushion to his right on the dais.

"Yes father." Ko followed his father up the dais and sat next to him on the cushion provided. Hidari took up his post beside the dais on Jikan's left, while Hokori mirrored him off to Ko's right.

"Today will be your first test as my heir." Jikan told Ko. "Lord Nobu!" He called

Nobu looked up. "Yes my king?"

"My son will sit in judgement during today's trial. Everyone will defer to him as king until it's completion."

Nobu smiled and nodded. "As you wish sire. I look forward to seeing our prince take charge."

Once everyone was settled, Hidari looked to the king for confirmation, and then spoke into his comm. "Bring in the prisoner."

The double doors at the end of the hall opened and a large mustached man with blackened scars covering half his face, was led forward in chains, flanked on either side by guards. Though his hands were bound, he held himself with the air of a proud returning hero, rather than a prisoner awaiting judgement.

The guards stopped when they were approximately ten feet from the dais and bowed, though the prisoner stood tall and defiant. He met Jikan's gaze without flinching, causing whispers to rise from several council members. Noticing this the guards looked up to see the prisoner had not bowed, and one of them kicked the back of his knees, making him fall to his knees with a grunt. "Disrespectful swine!" The guard roared.

"Enough!" Jikan commanded before they could do anything further. "Step back!"

"Yes your majesty!" Both guards retreated back several feet, and took up positions behind the prisoner.

Turning his attention to Nobu, Jikan called out to him. "Begin the trial."

Lord Nobu stood from his seat "This trial has now begun. Crown prince Ko no Unmei presiding." He unrolled a scroll and read from it. "Takeshi Aizawa, you stand before this council charged with the following crimes: theft of a decommissioned travel sphere, unauthorized travel to the human realm, and conspiracy to commit large scale temporal manipulation." Nobu closed his scroll and looked down at Takeshi. "These are serious crimes. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty" Takeshi declared. "For I have committed no crime. I tried to save millions, while you all stood here on high and left them to suffer. You are the real criminals."

A buzz went through the council, at Takeshi's comment. "Quiet!" Jikan demanded. "My son will speak now."

"You concern for human life is admirable Takeshi-san, and I applaud your desire to help them, but you forget yourself. You failed to consider the consequences of your actions might create. We are the Fates. We observe and protect the timeline, we do not interfere with it. No matter how much we think we should." Ko stated.

Jikan smiled next to him, as the council murmured their agreement, pleased by his sons words.

"Oh really?" Takeshi smirked. "And what about Klara Polzl?"

"Who?"

Takeshi smiled scornfully. "Why don't you ask your father my prince. I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you."

Confused Ko looked to his father, surprised to see his eyes narrowed in anger.

"How do you know that name?" Jikan demanded

"Simple your majesty, because I was there." Takeshi stated.

Ko noticed as Hidari stiffened at Takeshi's claim. 'Interesting.' He noted. 'What was that about?' He distracted from further thought on the matter by yelling from below.

"Impossible" Nobu interjected "the only way you could have been there-"

"Is if I were an agent of Chronos?" Takeshi smirked. "I was."

"You were a part of Chronos?" Jikan asked

"Yes, though I'm not surprised you don't remember me. Like you, it was both my first and last mission."

Ko leaned over and whispered to Hokori. "What does he mean agent of Chronos? He was a priest?"

Leaning down Hokori whispered back. "No your highness, and it's not Chronos it's C.H.R.O.N.O.S."

"Huh?"

Hokori smirked. "An acronym my prince. The Celestial Historical Response Operational Neutralization and Observation Squad. It was was a project created and spearheaded by your uncle, when he and your father were princes themselves. However, after a certain incident the project was shut down by your grandfather. Your uncle seemingly then chose to enter into a self imposed exile."

Ko was intrigued. He had never heard any of this before. "So what was the incident?"

"I'm afraid that's all I know my prince. Further information on the matter is restricted. Only the king can authorize its disclosure."

Frustrated Ko merely grunted, and waved Hokori back to his post.

"If you were a former member of CHRONOS then you should know the disastrous consequences your actions would carry. Why would you consider let alone attempt something so dangerous? Your actions are those of a criminal, and a fool." Nobu accused.

"What I did, I did for justice. For all the millions who lost their lives. For children who lost parents, brothers who lost sisters, husbands who lost wives, and especially for those who were outright erased from existence. I did it because of people like you, Lord Nobu, and like his majesty and his father before him. Privileged bureaucrats and royals, who would rather sweep it all under the rug, and let the criminal responsible go free, rather than punishing him, as he so rightly deserves!" Takeshi's face was filled with rage. "If you truly believed that no one would ever step forth to right these wrongs, then the ones who were the fools, were you!"

"How dare you impugn my honor!" Nobu shouted, leaning over his spot at the table and pointing his finger at Takeshi. "And how dare you speak of our kings like that, you despicable villain! Have you no shame? If it were up to me, you would be made an example of before your final punishment. And a long example at that. It's obvious to me that you need to be taught some manners."

"Hmm. Well as fun as that sounds, unfortunately it's not up to you, now is it?!" Takeshi smirked smugly

Seemingly remembering where he was, Lord Nobu took his hand off the table and stood up, closing his eyes and coughing lightly into his fist. "Yes, as shameful as you are, you are correct. That decision lies with our crown prince."

Turning he addressed Ko directly. "Your highness, the evidence is clear. The prisoner was caught red handed attempting to alter the timeline, and has confessed to his crimes before the entire council. Not to mention, he has also publicly criticized and insulted your father and illustrious grandfather. He is clearly a criminal of the worst caliber. I ask that you pass judgement of this heinous villain now, and teach him the error of his ways."

Ko was suddenly very aware that all eyes were on him. Even Takeshi was silent, eyeing him with curiosity.

Ko was conflicted. The case itself seemed fairly straightforward, and what Nobu said was true. All the evidence said that Takeshi was guilty. But at the same time, some of the things Takeshi said nagged at Ko. It felt as if everyone were dancing around some secret. Something the council and his father didn't want to talk about, and Takeshi was involved somehow. Ko intended to find out what it was.

Ko glanced over at Hidari, shocked to find a sad look on his face. Hidari had made several treks through the human world, and in each one he had served in his countries military for a majority of his life. Centuries of military life had made Hidari a very stoic man, and an expert when it came to schooling his features. To see him openly displaying emotion was a very rare sight indeed. He knew something.

Ko smiled inwardly. He was going to find out what was going on and Hidari was going to tell him.

"Lord Nobu, I will rend my decision soon, but first I need to.. take a…a" Ko whispered to Hokori. "Hey, Hokori. What is it called when you take a break in a trial."

"A recess sire."

"Yeah, that's it. Lord Nobu, I shall take a short recess and deliberate on this judgement."

Standing he turned to Jikan. "Father, may I use your chambers?"

Jikan nodded his consent, and Hokori made to follow him to the kings antechamber, but Ko stopped him. "Actually, I was hoping Hidari would come with me."

"Hidari my lord? But he is not your attendant, I am."

"Yes but Hidari has sat in on many of these trials with my father, he has experience, and I wish for his council on this matter."

Hokori sputtered, but Jikan cut him off. "It's fine, taking advice from those with more experience is a wise move. Hidari, go with him. Hokori can keep me company while you're gone."

"As you wish sire. Come my prince, let us go."

'Yes' Ko thought. 'Too easy.'

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**A/N:** Alright guys, another chapter out, and its a bit longer to boot. Im hard at work on the next one as we speak, so hopefully ill have that out before too long. as always guy please rate and review, and be sure to follow and favorite this story if you liked it so you never miss an update. Ill see you guys next time. Read on Y'all!


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